


Bad Ending

by E350tb



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, Bad Ending, Gen, Homeworld is Horrible, Mind Manipulation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:28:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23095606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/E350tb/pseuds/E350tb
Summary: Era Three is in full swing, and Pink Diamond has taken her - no,theirrightful place in the authority.
Comments: 30
Kudos: 64





	1. Bad Dream

**Author's Note:**

> What if Steven didn't get through to White?
> 
> Thanks as always to [realfakedoors](https://archiveofourown.org/users/realfakedoors/pseuds/realfakedoors) for proofreading.

**Bad Dream**

There’s a lot of smiling in the higher echelons of Homeworld these days.

Why wouldn’t there be? Era 3 has been in full swing for two centuries, and the empire has entered a new golden age. In the past century alone, no less than three hundred planets have been added to the Blue, Yellow and White segments of the imperium, and gem production is at last in full swing once more. And best of all, Pink Diamond has at long last returned - not the same as she was, or rather _they_ were, but one didn’t question a Diamond about such things.

It’s a very special day at the much-expanded Zoo, where Pink spends most of their time. Today, they will be getting a much anticipated hail from the most exalted Blue and Yellow Diamonds.

Pink enters the communication room early, bouncing with youthful excitement. It’s been a whole year since they last got to talk to both Blue and Yellow at the same time, and they can’t wait. Behind them, their Pearl shuts the door for privacy.

“Oh man, maybe they’ll finally give me a new colony, Pearl!” exclaims Pink - gems generally try to ignore the old human slang that occasionally comes out of their mouth. Just a human quirk, a unique byproduct of their unusual creation; just like the odd nickname their inner court uses for them.

Pearl smiles. She’s seen better days; half of the silhouette of her head is a glitching mass of light-blue light, swirling gently. The cause is evident - her gem isn’t so much _cracked_ as haphazardly stitched together from two broken halves, the best Pink’s healing powers and the Reef can do. The Diamonds have nagged Pink time and time to get a new Pearl, but this one is special to them, so they keep her.

“i̕͝ ̨h҉o̢͞pe̶͢͡ ̶̴͠s̨o ̷͟͞t̶ơo̵,͏ m͢y ͠d̵ia̧mo͡n̸d͜҉,̧͡” she says, her voice crackling and distorted.

Pink sighs. “I told you, Pearl, you can call me _Stevonnie!_ ”

“o̵̢͠f͏̢ ͝co̡҉͝u͢r̕͟͞s̡͡e,͏ ̢m͞y̕ ̶̡d͢i͘am̵o͝n͞d,̧̧” says Pearl.

Pink giggles, despite themself - then their breath catches as the holographic diamond screens appear, signalling the Diamonds. Before long, their faces appear before them, and they grin.

“Blue! Yellow!” they exclaim.

Blue beams. “Pink!”

Yellow offers a smaller, more official smile. “Hello, Pink.”

“ _Guuuuuys_ , I told you, you can call me Stev-”

“Mhm,” nods Yellow, not even slightly listening. “Pay attention, Pink, this is an important briefing.”

Pink nods, putting on their best, practiced serious face.

The meeting drags on for about two hours, and it’s mostly boring - ship construction quotas, gem production quotas, plans for the colonisation of new worlds, all of the sort of unglamourous things a diamond needs to know. They try not to space out, but sometimes they can’t help it - although if they’re honest, they’re sure they catch Yellow and Blue trying not to get distracted as the other reads off figure after figure.

At last, Yellow wraps up her last big spiel on a new type of destabilizer and changes the subject.

“Pink,” she says. “I’ve heard you’re having… night visions?”

“Night _mares_ , Yellow,” replies Blue softly. “They’re a common side effect of sleeping.”

“Mm,” Yellow grunts. “You really ought to stop doing that, Pink. So, what are they?”

Pink scratches the back of their head.

“I’m back on Earth,” they reply. “In the Crystal Gems’ temple. I’m sitting on my old bed, watching the ‘television’, and two humans come onto the screen and-”

“Which humans?” asks Yellow sternly - she clearly knows Pink is holding something back.

Pink rubs their arm.

“They’re Steven and Connie,” they admit. “And they tell me I’m forgetting who I am. That I… that I need to remember I’m not Pink Diamond.”

Yellow and Blue share concerned glances.

“A-and then I run outside, and I see people on the sand,” Pink continues. “I see… Greg Universe, and a bunch of other humans from Beach City, and they’re all telling me to remember. And then the ground disappears, and I’m falling through space and…”

They shrug.

“Then I wake up.”

Yellow purses her lips.

“You may need to talk to White about this,” she says.

“I don’t think it’s that serious,” counters Blue. “You just need to remind yourself it's not real.”

“I… I try…”

“The Steven and his pet no longer exist,” continues Blue. “You aren’t a fusion anymore, they can’t split you apart.”

“ _Technically_ they still are,” Yellow points out.

Blue shoots her a glance and continues.

“And the Greg cannot hurt you either,” she says. “He is gone. Beach City is gone. Tell me, Pink, if you went back to Earth, what would you find?”

“...rocks,” replies Stevonnie. “Lots of space rocks. And dust.”

“Exactly,” nods Blue, smiling. “White handled it. Your destiny as Pink Diamond is assured. You shouldn’t doubt yourself.”

Pink offers a weak smile and nods.

“Yeah,” they say. “Exactly.”

“Good,” says Yellow. “The Rebellion is over, remember that.”

“Yellow!” Blue chides.

Pink chuckles.

“It’s okay, Yellow, we’re never rebelling again - right, Pearl?”

“y҉͝͠es̸̛͟,͏ ͝m҉̛y̨͝͝ ҉d̷i҉a̶̕͞mo̶nd̸,̡” says Pearl, “i̵͘ w̛i̧͏ļl̵̨ ҉n͏e̛̕v̢͢͜e̸͘͟r̵ le̸͜͢a͏͘͜d̡͡ ̢y҉o͠ư̸͏ ̸a͢s͡t̕ŗ͢ay ̸ag̷ai̵n̸͝.”

“Make sure you _don’t_ ,” says Yellow dangerously. “Alright, Pink, we have to go. I will check in soon; in the meantime, ensure you keep out of trouble.”

Pink smiles and salutes, and Yellow and Blue disappears. They sigh, and turn around to head to the door.

“Pth! Rebelling!” Pink wrinkles their nose. “We’re not dumb enough to do _that_ again, right Pearl?”

“o͡f͟ ̡co͟u̸̢r͝͠s͜e͘,҉ my̡͞ d̶i͏̶a҉̴mo̷ņ̵̶d,” says Pearl.

Contentedly, Pink Diamond walks away.


	2. Bad Signal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What if Lars was marooned?
> 
> (Warning: This one's a bit heavier, I think.)

**Bad Signal**

It’s a strange form of routine.

Every morning, he wakes up, hearing the driving rain against the windows of the ship. Usually he’ll lie on his little bed for a while, taking in the sound. Then he’ll pull himself up, walk over to the console and check for any transmissions.

None will be there. None ever are. And he can’t send any.

Lars is lucky, he thinks. He may be exiled far from his friends, his planet gone, his ship crashed, and no hope of rescue, but he has a roof over his head, and his friends. They’ve made a nice, cosy little life here.

Having made his fruitless check, he jogs, out in the rain, along the rocky beach as he’s sprayed by crashing waves. It takes thirty minutes to run the whole way around the rock, if he doesn’t stop. And he doesn’t, because there’s nothing to see. Maybe if it stopped raining… but he’s been here for two hundred years, and it never stops raining.

He gets back to the ship, and he checks on everybody. Today the twins have started building a model - they’re surprisingly good at it, even if they mostly just build model after model of the Sun Incinerator. They use rocks, cut into easy to use shapes by Fluorite. The result isn’t half bad.

He goes to Fluorite, who’s learned to make tools from the island’s many rocks. She finds it therapeutic; and speaking of that, she makes sure to ask him how he feels. He smiles and says he’s fine. She doesn’t prod. It doesn’t do to prod.

Rhodonite reads to Padparadscha - one of the books Steven’s friend Connie sent to Lars, long ago. She’s read this one before, but Paddy listens anyway, enraptured. Her reactions are delayed, but Rhodonite waits patiently every time. Lars doesn’t interrupt, but motions for the fusion to meet him later.

In the evening, he runs again, but this time he stops on the far side of the island. There’s a big, tall rock there, one with a huge dent in it. Here Lars screams. He rages. And most of all he punches as hard as he can, smashing the surface of the rock, making that dent ever so slightly bigger. And when his knuckles are red and he can punch no more, he slips to his knees and sobs.

Then he goes back to the Sun Incinerator and smiles, and tells everyone how fine he is.

He meets Rhodonite after dark in his captain’s cabin. They talk about nothing, and then they hug, because one of them desperately needs to be touched and held and the other desperately needs to be loved for what they are, and it’s hard to tell who is which. And Lars closes his eyes and kisses her, and tells himself this is love, because surely only love can make him feel so empty. And Rhodonite kisses back, because she’s off-color and wrong and should just accept what she can get.

He waves her off as she leaves, and they both smile. Smile, smile, smile, that’s the maxim. Smile even as your heart breaks.

He lays alone, in bed, and thinks of Sadie. He tries to remember his parents' faces. He knows one day they’ll disappear.

Then he sleeps, knowing he’ll do it all again tomorrow.

Forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So he's marooned, but together with the Off Colors... HMM THAT'D BE A GOOD NAME FOR A STORY


End file.
